Cruising with a Spirit

Good afternoon, kids. Better late than never. We left Athens after a slightly chaotic journey to get there. It was very hot and humid. The ship looks very well maintained and crew is in abundance. Luckily our luggage arrived early. We were all nested by Life Boat Drill. There are 502 aboard with about 170 Venetians. I am surprised by that but maybe there are lots of B2B2B2Bers. The crowd is pleasant and better dressed than expected on a 7 day Med cruise. Wellseasoned, here is the roster: Capt Zanello who gets off in 1 1/2 weeks and Capt Mino returns; HD is Flávio; Staff Capt. Samuele but he gets off in a few days in Venice; Maitre'd Jorge; Chief Engineer Michele Barone but he gets off in a few weeks to go to the new build; CD Fernando, no more info needed; Chef is Ann-Mari which makes everyone happy! I will report on the new menus in a few days. Need more info first. Even tho' the ship is full, haven't felt crowded yet. Very port intensive. No sea days. We will have to make some (VSDs) virtual sea days. First stop was Katakalon for Olympia, lots of people went. Yesterday, Corfu, always a favorite. Today Kotor, Montenegro, one of the hidden treasures of Europe. Found a great fish/shellfish restaurant even tho' it is Monday. Dubrovnik tomorrow, VSD for me. Be back next week and may be less crowded. We had a CC M&M. Enjoyed meeting cman66 from Miami and pippa rose and spouse from Melbourne, down under. At the Captain's table for the Welcome aboard, Zanello hosted an old friend, Madame from Paris, and 3 Brisbaners who did not know each other. Small world stuff. I count on the weather getting more temperate as we proceed thru the month. Later.

duct tape, thanks for the play-by-play! Have an awesome cruise!

Sounds like you have a wonderful staff. Do you know how long Flavio will be on board? Is Nicolas the F & B manager?

Hope you continue to enjoy a wonderful trip.

Glad that you are having a great time, duct tape! And thanks for all of the info on the staffing. A couple of months ago CD Fernando told me that he would be leaving the Spirit on Sept 29, before we join you on October 7. Has this changed? If not, do you know who will replace him?

We are looking forward to following your adventures over the next month!

Have a great time and hope the weather stays kind to you. Jealous that you have Ann-Mari!

Forgot to mention the music. I am very happy to report that after disappointments on the Shadow and Cloud with the new entertainers, these folks can sing! They are sociable and want you to have a good time. We had 2 shows last night! There are 3 piano players, the Stars duo who also sing on deck and Charley and his terrific trio!! I am a happy camper.[emoji2]

Thanks for the update, duct tape! Verrrrry jealous that you have both Ann-Mari and Jorge! Enjoy your trip and good luck at trivia :)

Also envious that you have Ann-Mari and Jorge. Hopefully they have only just boarded and will still be onboard in November?

all sounds wonderful!

Keep enjoying!

Good afternoon, kids. Better late than never. We left Athens after a slightly chaotic journey to get there. It was very hot and humid. The ship looks very well maintained and crew is in abundance. Luckily our luggage arrived early. We were all nested by Life Boat Drill. There are 502 aboard with about 170 Venetians. I am surprised by that but maybe there are lots of B2B2B2Bers. The crowd is pleasant and better dressed than expected on a 7 day Med cruise. Wellseasoned, here is the roster: Capt Zanello who gets off in 1 1/2 weeks and Capt Mino returns; HD is Flávio; Staff Capt. Samuele but he gets off in a few days in Venice; Maitre'd Jorge; Chief Engineer Michele Barone but he gets off in a few weeks to go to the new build; CD Fernando, no more info needed; Chef is Ann-Mari which makes everyone happy! I will report on the new menus in a few days. Need more info first. Even tho' the ship is full, haven't felt crowded yet. Very port intensive. No sea days. We will have to make some (VSDs) virtual sea days. First stop was Katakalon for Olympia, lots of people went. Yesterday, Corfu, always a favorite. Today Kotor, Montenegro, one of the hidden treasures of Europe. Found a great fish/shellfish restaurant even tho' it is Monday. Dubrovnik tomorrow, VSD for me. Be back next week and may be less crowded. We had a CC M&M. Enjoyed meeting cman66 from Miami and pippa rose and spouse from Melbourne, down under. At the Captain's table for the Welcome aboard, Zanello hosted an old friend, Madame from Paris, and 3 Brisbaners who did not know each other. Small world stuff. I count on the weather getting more temperate as we proceed thru the month. Later.

Thanks for all the info, looking forward to being aboard.

Rp

Greetings from The Wind Ducttape - sorry that we missed you by a few nautical miles in the Adriatic. Glad that you are settling in well ( especially as you are on The Spirit !!! ).

All is well on The Wind - I gave Gianni a big hug from you and he sends his regards. I echo your comments re the Singers, we have a wonderful Group who have performed so well to date and indeed are very personable.

Continue to have Fun.

Thanx all. Dubrovnik today. Gorgeous sunny day 22/72. Some of you may be interested that M& L are here, with their placemats.

Duct Tape, do you have the name of this restaurant? We'll be visiting Kotor next year and would love to try it.

TIA!

Thanx all. Dubrovnik today. Gorgeous sunny day 22/72. Some of you may be interested that M& L are here, with their placemats.

I have heard that they will also be on the Grand Voyage around South American in January. Oh joy!

Dieter - I heard that Moss Hills would be the CD when we board in November, but I don't know whether he will be on for your voyage.

Duct Tape:

It seems you are getting a head start on us as we do not join you until September 28. So glad to hear that life on the ship is going well.

Please let me know what the status of formal or formal optional on our sailing. I know two husbands who would prefer to not pack their suits.

What is the new menu like? One of the two aforementioned individuals usually orders off the "always available" menu. Any changes to it?

Looking forward to following your posts! Just whets my appetite to join you.:)

Glad to see you're having a good time Ms. Tape. Give our best to your Bear. ;o)

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Swindy, I keep forgetting to find out when Ann-Mari and Jorge leave. I think she will be on vacation since she goes to the WC in Jan. cardinal girl, these are currently 7 day cruises so the dress code is loose. I do not yet know how the next few segments will pan out. The menu is another topic for it's own thread. MPfund, the restaurant is Scala Sacra. If you are facing the Cathedral there is an alley on your right. Go thru there, turn left and you will come out on a small square. The restaurant is straight ahead. We had lunch and the Capt. &a Chief Engineer had dinner there. Good reference.

Oops. In Kotor, Scala Santa.

Can anyone tell me what can be seen for brands of available drinking water?

Where?

Hi ho DT, are there any newspapers in the Spirit's library?

Hello there, we sailed on spirit 18 to 28 august istanbul roundtrip and the library had plenty of newspapers. All the usual ones, i.e. usa times and the times (not the daily mail) for us englanders. Hope this helps.

DT.....curious if they have been able to supply bottled spring water to suites.

Not interested in what they provide the general population.

DT.....curious if they have been able to supply bottled spring water to suites.

 

Not interested in what they provide the general population.

There is no general population, everyone is in a suite. Think of Silversea as being kind of like Lake Wobegon where the women are all strong, the men are all good looking, and all the children are above average.

Thanks for the info, Mark. I'll follow your advice.